Chapter 91
Chapter 91
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 91
Chapter Title: Reward
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Soft bed, faint fragrance, high ceiling, lighting that wasn’t flashy but looked expensive...
Yuri stared blankly at the ceiling upon opening his eyes. He had no idea how long he’d been out, but he wasn’t disoriented about where he was.
‘Maybeld Family.’
He clearly remembered the situation right before he lost consciousness. He’d been on the verge of collapsing, coughing his lungs out, so Alnair Maybeld, the family head, had invited him to the mansion, and they’d ridden in a carriage together.
After that, his memory cut off. He’d sat in the plush seat of the deceptively spacious carriage, leaned back against the cushion... and blacked out.
Scrape, scrape, scraaaape...
The sound came from nearby. Yuri blinked vacantly for a moment before slowly turning his head to the side. Beyond the absurdly wide bed, Ha-ryeong sat in an ornate chair, staring straight at him while peeling an apple. Estor sat in another chair.
“...”
Yuri said nothing, just looked at them. Ha-ryeong, staring right back, said nothing either. Estor’s face lit up as if to speak, but he closed his mouth again amid the silence from the others.
Ha-ryeong’s face was her usual blank mask, and the ripe red apple was being stripped bare by her sharp paring knife. Her eyes weren’t on the apple, but the long, curling peel was thin and translucent enough to see through to the other side.
“...”
Yuri said nothing again. Neither did Ha-ryeong. Estor glanced back and forth between them and kept his mouth shut. In the ongoing silence, Yuri examined Ha-ryeong. His eyes caught the bandage tightly wrapped around her right leg. She must have been injured while protecting Leysi.
By then, the apple peel was fully removed. Ha-ryeong kept her gaze fixed as she maneuvered the fruit this way and that, slicing it into neat, edible pieces and plating them.
“Would you prefer a rabbit shape?”
The silence broke. Ha-ryeong set down the knife and raised both hands above her head to make bunny ears.
“Usa-usa.”
“Don’t do that.”
“What’s usa-usa?”
Yuri recoiled in disgust as he answered, while Estor tilted his head. It felt awkward to keep lying there, so he tried sitting up—and it was like his first time doing strength training. Every part of his body throbbed without exception.
“Ugh...”
“Does it hurt a lot?”
“It’d be more surprising if it didn’t.”
Ha-ryeong clucked her tongue and pulled her chair closer.
“But at least there won’t be any lasting aftereffects. They were the kind of wounds that could’ve left some, but while you slept, you got top-grade potions and even a healing miracle.”
“A healing miracle?”
“Yes. The kind most people never witness in a lifetime—you got it from three priests at once.”
Priests capable of granting healing miracles to others were elite even among a church’s clergy. It wasn’t just about deep faith or strength of divine power; they had to possess a compassionate heart willing to bestow it upon others.
“I got a healing miracle, so why does my body still hurt like this?”
“Healing wounds unnaturally leaves pain behind inevitably. Even this is far less than it should be, considering the injuries you took.”
At Estor’s explanation, Yuri took a moment to scan his body before nodding.
“Feels that way.”
Just the wounds he could immediately recall weren’t few. His whole body had been shredded by a storm of blades, his arms and legs gashed down to the bone, splintered and cracked. He’d been slammed into the ground, his internal energy had backlashed causing internal injuries... yet the current pain was like severe muscle soreness.
“But no overdoing it.”
“Doesn’t seem like there’ll be any overdoing it in this mansion.”
Yuri muttered as he caressed his body. The top-grade potions and healing miracle had done their job well—no scars remained.
“How long was I out?”
“A full day.”
“You two kept watch the whole time while I slept?”
“Sadly, I was exhausted and tired too, so I slept. Disappointed by my answer?”
“Not at all. Anything happen while I was out?”
Estor answered that question instead of Ha-ryeong.
All the hostages from the exhibition hall had regained consciousness. Agui’s lower half and dropped items had been moved to the Earth Church’s temple first.
“Agui’s items will undergo preliminary verification by the Earth Church priests, then priests dispatched from the nearby War Church and Anvil Church will double-check them.”
The Anvil Church, devoted to the god of blacksmiths, was a unique church. Its clergy were more artisans than religious folk. They forged items themselves with hammers, or bestowed blessings on offerings or others’ items for a donation.
It was a setting not implemented in the game, but legendary epic items like the Sword Emperor’s cherished blade Atria and the Tang family’s Dark Seal were divine artifacts crafted by the Anvil Church’s master smiths.
“I get the War Church, but why the Anvil Church too?”
“In case Agui’s items have evil god blessings on them.”
“What happens then?”
“I’m not entirely sure, but if they can be purified, they will be. Otherwise, they’ll be destroyed.”
Yuri’s face crumpled like he’d bitten into shit at the response. Among Agui’s leavings, the gem-studded gold bracelet was what Yuri coveted most. It wasn’t certain, but considering the bastard was a close-quarters beast mage... it might be ‘Gebra’.
The endgame accessory for melee warrior classes. Since it didn’t count as a weapon, it was essential for close beast mages who sealed weapon slots with bare fists. Its performance could define a well-built character’s potential, and plenty of players rerolled characters just because they couldn’t get it.
It was hard to obtain even in the game, so reality would be tougher... but a saint of an evil god could plausibly have such a rare item.
“If it has to go through War Church and Anvil Church verification, we’ll be stuck in Alderan too long.”
“They’re departing in haste, so even at worst, they’ll arrive in four or five days. Your body’s in no shape anyway—might as well rest up.”
Ha-ryeong said, slightly furrowing her brow. It wasn’t sharp-toned, but it felt like a scolding.
‘Any way to secure Gebra first with some excuse...’
It might not even be Gebra, but you never know. Yuri pondered briefly, but no ideas surfaced. Alnair Maybeld wasn’t someone to ask favors of, and obsessing over the bracelet could arouse needless suspicion.
‘Ask Estor for help?’
That wouldn’t work either. With evil god ties, the churches would be strict. In the end, Yuri clicked his tongue softly. It was an item he couldn’t help but obsess over, but obsessing too much was bad. As Ha-ryeong said, nothing to do but rest a few days and wait for the verification to finish.
“If I’d known it’d turn out like this, I would’ve gone to the exhibition too.”
Estor muttered, reaching for an apple. *Smack!* Ha-ryeong’s palm struck the back of his hand.
“...?”
“Patient.”
“Ah, right...”
Estor meekly bowed his head without protest. Yuri wasn’t particularly hungry, nor did he crave apple... but the atmosphere didn’t allow refusal. In the end, he obediently picked up a fork and speared a piece.
“Even if you’d been there, nothing would’ve changed.”
“What wouldn’t? At least you wouldn’t have nearly died alone.”
Estor reached for the nearby fruit basket, glancing at Ha-ryeong, but she didn’t stop him this time. He let out a relieved breath and bit deeply into an apple.
“And a church saint is a rare powerhouse, right? I came along with you to experience crisis—no, brush death.”
“What if you died?”
“If I die, it’s because I’m weak—no one’s fault but mine. Same for you, no? According to Ha-ryeong, you fought like a demon.”
“I would’ve died cursing others.”
Yuri grumbled, popping an apple piece into his mouth.
Knock knock.
After a few more bites, a knock sounded.
“Come in.”
It was Leysi who entered, and she didn’t look well. Yuri blinked at the sight of her in a wheelchair, but Ha-ryeong and Estor, already familiar with it, showed no surprise. It was hard to tell if it was even Leysi or Orca anymore.
“Mind stepping out for a bit?”
At Leysi’s request, Ha-ryeong and Estor rose and left the room. Yuri stared blankly at the closing door and Leysi before cautiously speaking.
“Uh... what’s with your condition?”
Not knowing the circumstances, that’s all Yuri could ask. The wheelchair’s wheels, smoothed by magic, glided to a stop near the bed.
“Orca overdid it in my body.”
It was Leysi. She grimaced, her pallid face drained of color, and grumbled.
“It hurts like hell every time I move. They say even a healing miracle’s no use in cases like this. A few days’ rest, and it’ll recover naturally.”
“Oh no...”
“You actually worried?”
“My body hurts too, so I get how you feel. But why lie back then?”
“Lie? When did I lie?”
“Five minutes, you said. It was over five.”
That’s what it was...! Leysi’s gaping lips flapped soundlessly before she coughed lowly and averted her gaze.
“First time, so a little margin of error. B-but it didn’t hit ten...?”
“Ten minutes, and we’d all be dead.”
“T-thanks to you, Yuri... we survived.”
Leysi still harbored suspicions about Yuri’s identity. But she wasn’t irrational or rude enough to stiffen over unconfirmed doubts and past humiliation. So Leysi bowed her head to him.
“Thank you.”
“Thank you too.”
“You don’t need to thank me. In the end, I didn’t risk my life for you.”
“But without you, Orca couldn’t have come. So, what was that spell yesterday?”
He’d seen it firsthand, but it was hard to comprehend. Yesterday, for a brief time—Orca had been in Leysi’s body. The spells pounding Agui were beyond Leysi’s level, Orca’s unique magic, yet cast from Leysi’s flesh.
“Hmm...”
Leysi pondered briefly. Whether to reveal this spell.
“Akashic Record.”
She’d seen it anyway, and Orca didn’t seem inclined to hide it. So Leysi named the spell.
“What Orca’s been pursuing these past few years... is a kind of network through magic.”
“Ne...t...work...? What’s that? Magic term?”
Yuri’s puzzled reply made Leysi’s brow twitch. Infuriating. He’d been told multiple times he knew the situation, yet still...!
“To properly cast magic, understanding it is essential, and that can’t be captured in formulas alone. Even sharing memories doesn’t fully enable casting it. Soul power becomes an issue.”
High-tier unique magic worked that way. Same formula, but depending on comprehension and training, it varied greatly. The formula passed through soul power yielded different results per mage.
“But sharing souls eliminates that. Even a mage with wholly different understanding can experience another’s via soul share and manifest the magic. Repeat that, and you fully grasp others’ unlearned, unusable magic—the answers they derived. Over time, magic and understanding accumulate into vast knowledge, and someday... reach magic’s end, truth itself. And everyone might share that great knowledge. That’s what Akashic Record pursues.”
It sounded impossibly distant even to Yuri. If Leysi was right, a tier-1 novice mage could instantly become a grand mage by receiving one’s soul descent?
“Is that possible magic?”
“We’re developing it to be, someday. Lots of instability. Right now, only Orca can ‘transmit’ a soul. Even I, receiving hers, couldn’t have if I hadn’t reached tier 6.”
Leysi coughed lowly and continued.
“Orca used heaps of her unique magic in my body. The formulas are in my head, but sadly, I don’t understand them. My soul couldn’t accept them. So this great magic is barely at the crawling stage, with miles to go. To become Orca’s desired ‘library’—we’d need a computational space to record souls brimming with knowledge and experience, then trigger spells to access that network.”
Lost in her specialty, Leysi spoke without pause. Listening, Yuri felt awe. Talk of magic’s end and truth carried weight.
“The reason I came.”
Leysi cleared her throat.
“Orca wants to talk with you. Receiving transmission burdens me, so I’d rather not... but she says there’s something to discuss.”
“What’s that?”
“Your payment for my life.”
A wry smile crossed Leysi’s face.
“You might think Orca saved your life, but without you buying time, she couldn’t have arrived. So you saved mine.”
“I’d gratefully accept, but does it have to be now?”
No immediate reply. Leysi’s dazed eyes sharpened with light.
“I don’t like debts lingering.”
Orca answered. She looked down at Leysi’s wheelchair-bound form and chuckled.
“Leysi’s a treasured one when I use her body. Not a disciple, but close. High expectations too.”
Disciple. Yuri’s cheek stiffened slightly at the word.
“Two years ago factored in too—I implanted a death trigger so she wouldn’t die pointlessly.”
Yuri knew what Orca meant by two years ago.
Logos, where they met the Blood Fiend.
“So I’ll pay for saving her. Unless wholly impossible, I’ll grant your wish. No haggling. Reasons not to, and it’d cheapen my affection and expectations for her.”
“How’s Elena doing?”
After a silence, Yuri’s lips parted. It took courage for him to ask.
He’d never inquired about ‘Elena’ before. Not to Ha-ryeong, nor Leysi.
Precisely, Yuri had ignored Elena, left in Lutran. He feared knowing. Rumors were unavoidable, but he never dug himself. Even when Ha-ryeong mentioned her, he consciously tuned it out.
Two years ago’s farewell had scarred him too—he didn’t want to reopen it.
But he’d learned from Agui’s dream vision.
And burned some away.
“Elena?”
Orca’s brow arched slightly, as if unprepared for the question.
“She’s doing well.”
From Orca’s perspective. In her view, Elena thrived beyond measure.
“Good to hear.”
Yuri sighed shortly and nodded.
“I heard Elena became your disciple. So my wish is... to look after her well...”
“Overstepping.”
Orca laughed as she replied.
“And obvious too. I’m her master. A master caring for and teaching her disciple is duty, not something for an outsider like you to request.”
“...”
“You can take it as rude if you want, but I won’t. I know well of you and Elena.”
Orca interlaced her fingers and gazed steadily at Yuri. Her expression brimmed with unconcealed amusement and interest.
“So, Yuri, voice another wish.”
“...”
“Not about Elena—your wish.”
Yuri fell silent at the prompt.
A wish.
He’d passed out yesterday, so hadn’t considered what to ask Orca.
“Give me a moment.”
He’d thought ending with the Elena request would suffice. But Orca was too firm—he needed time to think.
“...”
Didn’t take long. Feasibility aside, nothing else came to mind for what Orca could give now.
Couldn’t request the maybe-Gebra bracelet. Even Orca couldn’t wrest it from War and Anvil Churches.
What Yuri could demand now was something Orca surely possessed.
Heavenly Thunder Orca Derusia’s unique magic.